Wisconsin Dells – The Pros and Cons of the Kalahari

July 20, 2007

Although my recommendation would be to stay somewhere other than the Kalahari in order to save some cash and get the most bang for your buck, the resort is very nice.  The room we stayed in was quite spacious and safety procedures are quite impressive.  We had to use a card in order to access our hall, to use the elevator in or wing, and to access our room. 

If you do stay at the Kalahari when you visit Wisconsin Dells, one tip:  you might need to put your key in a reader right inside of your door in order to activate the lights throughout the room.  We really felt like fools not knowing how to turn our lights on!  Also, if you have young ones that cannot swim, life jackets are available for rent at the resort.  To me, they should be given for free because I consider it to be a safety issue.

The staff at the Kalahari was very friendly and helpful.  If you will be using the waterpark, however, you will need to stop at the kiosk to get a bracelet if you are resort guest.  This kiosk is located a bit away from the entrance, so don’t get drawn in by the entrance and think you will be able to get in that way, as you will just be sent back to the kiosk. 

One thing that slightly bothered me was that, after being done with the waterpark from the time being, I had asked the employee if we could remove the bracelets and get new ones later if we decided to return and she said they preferred we kept them on and that “everyone in Wisconsin Dells has bracelets on anyway.”  I would have preferred being told I could remove the bracelets if we liked.  With as much as the place costs, I am sure they could withstand the cost and inconvenience of supplying my family with new bracelets if we needed them later.  My kids, particularly the twins, were not too thrilled about wearing them in the first place.

So, if you have money to spend and if you will make good use of the waterpark, you might want to stay at the Kalahari.  You could truly spend your entire vacation there because of the restaurants and activities available.  If you are going to check out the other sites the Dells has to offer, however, you might want to just go somewhere else.

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Great Smoky Mountains – Educational Ideas Part 6

July 7, 2007

After a visit to the Smoky Mountains, your child should have a great appreciation for nature.  That makes this the perfect time to discuss what you can do as a family in order to help protect nature. 

If you haven’t done so already, use this as an opportunity to discuss the importance of recycling.  Talk about deforestation and how animals are going extinct as their habitats are destroyed in order to make new goods that could have been made with recycled goods.  Ask your child to come up with a plan for the family for improving your recycling habits.  Not only does this help get your child thinking in a more worldly manner, it also gives him or her some ownership into the project.  By giving your child ownership, he or she will be more likely to follow through with the plan.

You can extend this concept further by asking your child to develop a plan that could be used by your entire neighborhood or community.  Who knows, you might be able to start an initiative that will get a whole group of people working toward better protecting the environment!

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